In order to print character data generated by a personal computer, the personal computer sends print data including character data and control data to a printer that is connected to the personal computer through a network.
Generally, the personal computer is provided with a driver, such as a graphic device interface (GDI), which outputs the character data to be printed to a printer driver. The printer driver generates print data using the character data. In such case, the GDI provides the character data in a predetermined format, for example, in the form of bitmap font data or in the form of outline font data. However, determining a format of character data to be used has been difficult.
For example, when considering the visual quality of the character image to be output, the format to be used may differ depending on the size of the character to be output. When the character is to be printed at large sizes, the use of bitmap font data illustrated in FIG. 11B should be discouraged as it may increase jagginess or blurriness of the output character image. When the character is to be printed at small sizes, the use of outline font data illustrated in FIG. 11A should be discouraged as it may cause a portion of the output character image to be not clearly shown.
In view of the above, various techniques have been introduced to improve the visual quality of the character image, for example, as described in the Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H09-62849.